Crime Watch

Photos

Tony Webster, via flickr

BY JERRY DANZIG

Man arrested on robbery charges

An 18-year-old man was arrested on robbery charges after assaulting a 72-year-old woman on Broadway near 109th Street and then fleeing with her purse early on the morning of Jan. 26, police said. The woman told police that the man, later identified as Souleymane Diaby, followed her after she stepped out the McDonald’s on Broadway near 104th Street at about 3 a.m. Diaby followed her out, began walking in front of her and then tried to pull her bag off her shoulder. When she held on, he punched her in her face before fleeing with her purse. He was identified and arrested the next day.

Mailbox Malfeasance

Police remind area residents that unknown perpetrators continue to intercept and alter checks dropped in mailboxes on 104th and 105th Streets. Residents are being advised to mail checks using the mailboxes inside local post offices. In the latest incident, at 4 p.m. on Jan. 19, a man mailed out a check in the amount of $400, dropping it off in the mailbox in front of the post office at 215 West 104th St. He subsequently received an e-mail from his bank, Santander, notifying him that his account was overdrawn as of Jan. 19 due to a forged check in the amount of $4,400 made out to a Jarell Givens. A few days later, he was again notified by the bank that his account was overdrawn, this time due to a forged check in the amount of $4,800 made out to an Allan B. Grant. Fortunately, Santander stopped both transactions, and the victim lost no money from his account.

Unsafety Deposit Box

An area resident discovered that his safety deposit box wasn’t as safe as he had believed. At 10:30 a.m. on Sat. January 25, a man went to the Chase Bank at 2551 Broadway to retrieve an expensive watch he kept inside a box there. The timepiece, a Dubey & Schaldenbrand valued at $10,000, was missing when he opened the vault. The victim told police that he has both box keys in his possession, and no one else had access to the receptacle.

Stairwell mugging

Police took an armed mugger off the streets – and out of a building. At 7:32 p.m. on Jan. 23, a 20-year-old woman visiting a friend inside 845 Columbus Ave. when she was approached inside the stairwell on the upper floors by a 20-year-old man, later identified as Brandon Minaya, who showed a firearm and took $200 cash plus an iPhone 5 from her front right jacket pocket. The victim then walked to a nearby deli and called police. She returned with the police to the scene of the crime and, as the door opened to the building’s lobby, pointed out the mugger. Minaya was arrested and charged with robbery.

Checked at Last

A liquor store employee was arrested after writing unauthorized checks. A 75-year-old male associated with the Gotham Wine & Liquor store at 2517 Broadway told police that between Jan. 1, 2015 and July 29, 2016, a then-employee had written checks totaling $72,000, depositing the money into his personal accounts. The errant employee, Costas Mouzouras, 49, was picked up January 27, 2017 and charged with grand larceny.